Democrats regard Thomas Jefferson as the founder of the party. The Democratic
Party evolved from political
factions that opposed Alexander Hamilton'sfiscal policies in the early 1790s;
these factions are known variously as the Anti-Administration
“Party”
and the Anti-Federalists. In the mid-1790s, Thomas
Jefferson and
James Madison organized these factions into
the Democratic-Republican
Party.[3][4] It favored
yeoman farmers, strict construction of the Constitution, and a weaker federal
government. These policies fell under the umbrella term Jeffersonian democracy. The party arose from
opposition to the policies of the ruling Federalist Party, which was
dominated by Hamilton and advocated a strong central government, a
loose
interpretation of the Constitution, and a republic governed by a
well-educated
professional class. The
party was effective in building a network of
newspapers in major cities to broadcast its policies and editorialize
in its
favor. In 1796, the party made its first bid
for the Presidency with Jefferson as its
presidential candidate and Aaron Burr as its vice presidential
candidate. Jefferson
came in second in the electoral college and became vice president. He
strongly opposed the policies of the John Adams
administration. Jefferson and Madison, through the Kentucky and
Virginia Resolutions,
announced the “Principles of 1798,” which made states'
rights a
keystone of the party's beliefs. The party saw itself as the true
champion of republicanism, and its opponents
as aristocrats.
Party members idealized the independent ("yeoman") farmer as the
exemplar of virtue, and distrusted cities, banks, and other moneyed
interests.
The party was strongest in the south and west, and weakest in New
England. The
party won control of the presidency and congress in 1800, and later elected Henry Clay
as the Speaker
of the
House in the
1810s. Before
1801, the Democratic-Republicans favored
France in the wars between Britain and France, and opposed the Jay Treaty
(which restored peace with Britain) because, they believed, it might
help
monarchist elements inside the United States. Until 1816, the party
generally
opposed such Federalist policies as high tariffs, a navy, military
spending, a
national debt, and a national bank. After the near defeat of
the United States in the War of 1812, however, the party split on
these issues.
Many younger party leaders, notably Henry Clay, John Quincy Adams, and John
C. Calhoun,
wanted to build a strong national defense. Meanwhile, the
faction led by John Randolph of Roanoke, William H. Crawford, and Nathaniel
Macon,
fearful that a strong military would oppress the people, continued
to oppose policies that centralized the government and empowered the
military.
The opposition Federalist Party, suffering from a lack of
leadership after the
death of Alexander Hamilton and the retirement of John Adams, quickly
declined;
although it revived briefly in opposition to the War of 1812, the
extremism of
its Hartford Convention in 1815 utterly destroyed
it as a political force. President James
Monroe
pursued a policy of harmony with their past political opponents; a New England
Federalist coined the term Era of Good Feelings to describe the new era.
Despite the Panic of 1819 and the sectional intrigue
preceding
the Missouri Compromise, Monroe was nearly
unanimously elected to a second term without serious competition. The
political
atmosphere became vituperative again as would-be successors to Monroe
emerged. HOME